Our Solutions 360 Team is excited to bring to you the 2021 Agronomy Video Series: Seed to Grain. We’ll follow a corn crop from preplant all the way to post-harvest analysis, focusing on key agronomic topics throughout the growing season. It’s our goal to help you better understand the factors that affect your bottom line. Follow us on social media & check back for new videos!
Right Seed, Right Acre
What factors do you consider when purchasing seed? Do you mostly focus on average yield? Or do you like to break down your acres by soil type & health issues to evaluate other traits? Part 1 of our Seed to Grain Series focuses on how to choose the right seed for your acres. Our staff agronomist, Todd Farver, touches on a few key points to consider in the video below. For a more in-depth read, check out our blog post!
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Key Takeaways
- One seed size doesn’t fit all, so choose multiple varieties that are customized to each farm & field.
- Analyze each farm & field to choose traits that address specific issues and will perform best in your soil type(s).
- Plan your nutrients & chemicals to line up with your varieties (and vice versa).
- For fungicide on corn, choose a variety that has a higher response rate for a better return on investment.
- Check how varieties perform against diseases & pests that you have issues with.
- Stagger your maturity & pollination dates to help reduce risk and smooth out logistics during the rest of the growing season.
- Plan variety maturity based on desired harvest moisture content and historical freeze date in your area.
- Look at yield performance across a larger region and multiple years for a truer average.
- Start planning populations before choosing varieties.
- For narrower row spacing (i.e. 20″), make sure to consider standability and leaf angle.
In the Trenches
Our team wanted an in-depth look at all the things that can happen in the seed trench. Part 2 of our Seed to Grain Series focuses on the top 4 factors that impact your stand, and how to best measure them in the field. Hear from our agronomist, Todd Farver, and Integrated Solutions Manager, Scott Meldrum, about the John Deere solutions we offer to ensure you have a successful planting season!
Psst – you can also peep the new 8RX 410 with ExactRate™ Liquid Fertilizer System and 1775NT 24R30 ExactEmerge™ on tracks in this video!
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Key Takeaways
- For corn, aim to stick with a depth between 1.5 and 2.5″. This number will vary based on soil type and conditions.
- If you’re experiencing very dry soil conditions and an uncertain weather outlook, consider planting to moisture.
- Dig in the seed trench while planting to check for sidewall smearing, unbroken ‘V’ shaped trenches, good seed-to-soil contact, and to measure the actual depth.
- Have as much preseason work completed as possible to limit your downtime when the weather is suitable.
- If using (or considering) an ExactEmerge™ planter, make sure to test passes at higher speeds before committing.
- Even if the weather seems perfect, dig in your trenches after a test pass to make sure the soil conditions are viable.
- Take the time to evaluate each field’s high- and low-performing areas. Consider writing a prescription to help distribute inputs where they will have the most payoff.
- Even without a prescription, consider changing your seeding rate on-the-go for more broad areas.
- Check your seed spacing a few times in the trench to make sure your planter readings are correct.
- Consider upgrading your planter to an ExactEmerge™ if you feel that uniform spacing is a limiting factor on your fields.
Evaluating Emergence
We already know that emergence is key to a great stand and high yields. But how do we determine what success looks like? Our staff agronomist, Todd Farver, will examine our test plot stand at emergence to assess planter performance and discuss what to watch for in the early stages. Be sure to check out our blog post for more info!
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Key Takeaways
- Use stand counts to find out how successful your emergence was for both flat rate and variable rate planted fields.
- Average multiple stand counts together for a more accurate representation.
- Use the appropriate length of row for your row width.
- Dig in the trench of skip areas to find out where the problem is (i.e. seed or planter).
- Make adjustments to your planter (if needed) while the season is still fresh in your mind.
- While performing stand counts, check your average spacing performance.
- Scout for weeds early in the growing season to minimize the nutrient impact on your crop.
- Make sure to verify your weed ID to choose the appropriate chemical.
- Check chemical restrictions to make sure you apply at the best possible time for effectiveness.
A New Approach to Nitrogen & Fungicide
In-season application technology has grown a TON in the last decade. Todd Farver, Van Wall’s staff agronomist, will explain why split-applying nitrogen might be the most beneficial for your acres, and dive into the pros and cons of foliar fungicide. Check out the in-field video!
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Harvesting Value
Our corn stand has made it through to harvest. We’re going to give you a behind-the-scenes look at all the data available when you remove your crop, and a look at how combine settings and crop condition can affect not just your grain quality, but also your field health for next year. Check back for our video and blog post!
Smart Farming 101
Now that we have a full year’s worth of data for our corn plot, what do we do with it? Our staff agronomist, Todd Farver, and Integrated Solutions Manager, Scott Meldrum, show you how to put your data back to work in the MyJohnDeere Operations Center. Our video and blog post will be worth the wait – check back soon!